"First time?"

For newcomers to bitcoin BTC$71,091.27, the recent price plunge may feel like a shock. Many believed they were getting in early last October when BTC hit a new all-time high of $126,000, encouraged by big talk from the Trump administration, Wall Street's acceptance, and forecasts of imminent $1 million per coin.

But what began as profit-taking snowballed into forced liquidations. The anticipated passage of the Clarity Act stalled, leaving regulatory uncertainty hanging over the market, and the AI boom coupled with a rally in metals to draw investor attention (and capital) away from crypto.

Tumbling below $70,000 earlier Thursday, bitcoin has nose-dived 45% in less than 4 months, maybe prompting some to completely lose faith in the long-term value of digital assets.

Here is what some long-term holders think about the current panic:

Entrepreneur and former Coinbase CTO Balaji Srinivasan:

“I have never been more bullish on crypto," wrote Balaji on Thursday. "Because the rules-based order is collapsing and the code-based order is rising. So the short-term price doesn’t matter."

"As international law breaks down, we will need not just onchain currencies, but onchain companies," he continued. "As the post-war order breaks down, we’ll similarly need the post-internet order. States will fail, and the network will take their place."

"We need internet capitalism, we need internet democracy, and we need internet privacy. So we need cryptocurrency.”

Samson Mow, CEO of bitcoin technology company Jan3:

“This drawdown feels horrible not because of the magnitude, but because it’s unfair," wrote Mow. "Everything goes up, but we’re sideways. AI bubble fears? We go down. Metals crash? We go down too."

"However, absolute scarcity is real and it will hit a limit. We can’t be pushed down forever.”

Bob Loukas, markets analyst:

“Every cycle feels different, but it never is," said Loukas.

You make real money on paper and think it’s permanent. Then you round-trip it and swear you’re done forever.

"As for where we are now. Stocks haven’t broken down broadly, although the cracks are forming. We’re in a bull trend still, but also in that “be mindful” stage, and dips are probably not opportunities anymore."

"For crypto, the carnage is huge, but can get so much worse. We’re way past the get out stage, but that doesn’t mean you can’t get out to live another day. If you’re sitting on stuff with paralysis, free yourself of this burden and dump it. A worthless token isn’t cheap because it's down 60%."

"This does not apply to spot bitcoin, you’re not selling that 44% off highs, even expecting much deeper levels to come in 2026.”

Jim Bianco, market analyst:

“Crypto is built on the principle of being permissionless; it's supposed to be a disruptive force to Tradfi. I believe in this mission. In many ways, Tradfi needs to be disrupted."

"This is why I bristled against **TradFi / Boomer Adoption** narrative. Asking permission from Larry Fink, Jay Powell (or Donald Trump) is everything crypto is NOT supposed to be. Thankfully this "asking permission" narrative died in November 2024."

"The next leg won’t come from more suits blessing bitcoin and telling tradfi to buy."

"Stop rationalizing why Boomers are not selling, or will buy again. Get back to building the altenative financial system. Take it away from BlackRock, not waiting for them to bless you. Do this, and bitcoin can go to $1M. Until then, winter will continue.”